


The World Ends With You.

by defenderofjustice707



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: F/F, M/M, Mild Gore, Modern AU, Rating May Change, cursing, slight Springles, twewy au, you don't really have to play the game to get it, yumikuri
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-08-31
Updated: 2014-11-20
Packaged: 2018-02-15 14:45:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 9,378
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2232861
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/defenderofjustice707/pseuds/defenderofjustice707
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"Outta my face!! You're blocking my view. Shut up! Stop talking. Just go the hell away!!!"<br/>"All the world needs is me. I've got my values...so you can keep yours, alright?"<br/>"I don't get people. Never have, never will."</p><p>Levi wakes up in the streets, finding himself in the middle of a deadly game. If he plays, he will have a second chance at life. If he loses, he will be erased. Levi needs to win the game with his insufferable partner, Eren. But it won't just be as simple as just "winning". It never is, is it?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Day 1: The Reaper's Game (1)

**Author's Note:**

> I've been really excited about writing this. It will, of course, be different from TWEWY, or else we wouldn't have ourselves a story. I feel like I should say that I don't own TWEWY.

Levi looked around in distaste. He really never liked people. They were so noisy, always crowding the streets and not wearing deodorant so they smelled like shit all the time. They were annoying and unnecessary. Shibuya was full of people like that.

Suddenly, Levi tripped, falling onto the ground and banging up his knee. He slowly raised himself onto his elbows, surprised that no one was stopping to help him, or even to stare or laugh. Were people in this city really so cruel? Levi stayed on the ground a moment longer, trying to ignore the sudden pain in his hand. Would someone help him up? Anyone? Not that he couldn't do it himself. This was an experiment, to see if the world was really worth anything.

...Apparently not. Levi sighed as he stood up, brushing his hands against his jeans in disappointment. It might have been interesting to see who would've helped him up. It didn't matter now.

Levi started walking aimlessly again, but he noticed something odd. No one was looking at him. This in itself wasn't odd, because Levi didn't consider himself to be that attractive. What with the bags under his eyes and his overall grumpy demeanor, most people avoided eye contact with him. But something about the _way_ they weren't looking at him bothered him. He would normally get a few weird looks, maybe one from a high school girl or something like that. They weren't looking at him, not noticing him at all, but still somehow avoiding touching him.

In a sudden burst of courage, he walked up to a stranger and waved his hand in their face, trying to get their attention. The stranger didn't even look at him, walking right by without a second thought. Levi began to panic, running around and trying to get people's attention by waving his hands in their faces and shouting.

"Hey!!" Levi yelled in one man's ear, "I'm talking to you! Hey!"

Levi huffed. Why wasn't anyone looking at him? He sighed and put his hands in his pockets. He felt something there, something cold and round he knew wasn't there before. He didn't know why he hadn't noticed it earlier. He pulled it out of his pocket and examined it. What he saw was a black pin with a white skull on the face of it. It didn't look very  special. Levi didn't even collect pins, like those children that played that Tin Pin game.

"...A pin?" he asked himself. "What the fuck-"

Levi pressed on the pin with one finger. Suddenly, a flood of words rushed through his head. These thoughts weren't his own. What was going on? Was he... reading minds? Was that even possible.

_"I want a boyfriend."_

_"777 is playing soon!"_

_"Ugh, that girl who works at D & B is so hot! I should have asked for her number..."_

Levi flinched back from the pin, dropping it in the process. It clattered to the ground, and all of the voices stopped. Tentatively, he picked it back up and put it in is pocket. He got the feeling it was important, but no way in hell he was touching that thing again until he needed to.

All of a sudden, Levi's phone beeped. A text? Who would text him? He didn't have friends. Well, maybe a few, but that was beside the point. He pulled his phone out of his pocket and checked the message.

_"Fail and face erasure."_

What.

_"Reach 104. You have 60 minutes."_

Where the fuck was a 104. Was that even a place? Levi didn't know, even though he had been a Shibuya resident since the day he was born.

Levi backed away, scowling, and ran toward some dog statue. He didn't know what the fuck it was. The only thing he knew was that he was fucking invisible and he had no idea why. What was going on? What happened to him?

A sudden scream pulled Levi out of his frantic thoughts. Levi turned his head to see what was happening. Two people were cowering in the face of... colorful frogs? What the actual fuck.

Levi backed up when the colorful frog things noticed him. He didn't know what the fuck they were, but they were not about to come near him. He hated frogs. They were so slimy and bumpy.

The frogs approached him, jumping up at him and trying to hit him. He turned and began to run, not sure what the fuck was going on. He sure as hell wasn't about to be killed by some weird frog things now.

"Hey!" someone shouted near him. He turned to see a boy in the distance. His features were blurry as he was far away, but that didn't matter to Levi. The boy was running toward him. _Toward him_.

"You can see me?" Levi asked once the boy got close enough. Now that he could see his face, he was actually fairly attractive, with a mop of brown hair and stunning turquoise eyes.

"Yeah," the boy waved his hand dismissively, as if it were obvious, "You've gotta make a pact with me."

"A what," Levi deadpanned. As he said that, one of the frogs jumped up and kicked him right in the cheek. Pain blossomed throughout the entire right side of his face.

"Fuck!"

"The noise won't attack you if you make a pact with me," said the boy impatiently, grabbing Levi's hand. Levi almost swatted his hand away, but the look in his eyes made him stop. A strange blue light surrounded them (as if what was happening wasn't already strange) and Levi felt stronger, more agile. The boy immediately turned around and started attacking the frogs. Levi watched in awe as one vanished before his eyes, turning into dust.

"Here!" the boy shouted, throwing something at Levi. Levi caught it in surprise, nearly dropping it. It was a red pin, like the one he found in his hand earlier. This one was decorated with three small flames forming a circle.

"What do I do?" asked Levi, deciding to go with the flow and ask questions later.

"Tap it! Use your thoughts to control it's power!" the boy shouted, narrowly avoiding another attack from one of those... What did he call them? Noise?

Levi tapped the pin, not even bothering to ask what the hell he meant by controlling it with his mind. When he decided to target one of the noise, it caught on fire. Levi stared in shock as it disintegrated, much like the one that kid had taken out. The kid turned around and grinned at him. When Levi scanned the ground for the noise, he saw none. The kid must have gotten rid of most of them.

"Hi there!" the boy grinned and held his hand out to Levi, "I'm Eren, and I'll be your partner this week!"

"Levi," Levi took the outstretched hand, "I have no idea what the fuck is going on. Explain."

Eren looked taken aback. After a moment of just staring at Levi, he rushed to explain things Levi would never understand unless he said them more slowly.

"Slow," Levi said. Eren stopped talking and stared once again. Levi had to admit that his dumbfounded face was kind of cute.

"We don't have time for slow!" Eren exclaimed, looking at his new partner incredulously. "Look at your hand. You see the timer?"

Levi looked down and saw that there was indeed a timer on his hand. It read 20:05, whatever the hell that meant.

"Why?" Levi asked, presenting his palm to Eren, prompting him to explain.

"We have twenty minutes to reach ten four. Once we get there, I'll explain what's going on. Sound like a plan?" Levi nodded in response, and Eren grabbed his hand. He began to run to 104, dragging Levi behind him. Levi could barely keep up. They still had twenty minutes, right? What was this kid's rush?

When Eren finally stopped at what Levi assumed was 104, they were both out of breath. Levi checked his palm and, sure enough, the timer was gone.

"Now, explain," Levi huffed, resting his hands on his knees. Eren was fucking fast. He supposed that was to his advantage, though.

"Fine," Eren stood upright, trying to hide the fact that he was breathing heavily. "This is the reaper's game. You know how we just had to go to 104? That was a mission. We'll get one mission a day, and if you fail you're erased. Once one team finishes the mission, every other team is safe, too. The frog things are noise. They won't attack you if you have a partner. But, they will fight with you if _you_ attack _them_. You also can't fight the noise without a partner. Also, the frogs aren't the only kinds of noise. Did I leave anything out?"

"How long with the game go on?" asked Levi, wondering how the hell he got himself into this.

"A week." Eren replied.

"How-" Levi began to ask how the hell he got into this game, but he was interrupted.

"Hey!" an obnoxious looking kid shouted, running directly at them, "You guys players?"

"Yeah," Eren replied. The kid was tall, with an undercut and an abnormally long face. Beside him was a man who was much shorter, with darker hair and a spray of freckles.

"I'm Jean," the tall one said, "You guys the ones that completed the mission?"

Levi nodded.

"You guys saved us," the shorter, freckled one said in obvious relief, "We weren't going to make it in time. We were surrounded by noise. I'm Marco, by the way."

"I'm Eren. This is Levi," Eren gestured to Levi, who in turn swatted Eren's hand away.

"Like, ten players were erased today," Jean said in amazement, trying to make conversation, "It's the first day!"

"This is going to be rough," Marco agreed. The three talked for a bit, until Levi just walked away. He didn't want anything to do with these brats.

"Levi!" Eren shouted, following him.

"What." Levi deadpanned.

"What are you doing? We're partners! We have to stick together or we'll be erased." Eren moved to stand in front of Levi, preventing him from moving. They were now in an intersection, right outside of 104.

"Listen, kid," Levi started to say, but he was cut off yet again, this time by a female voice.

"This is so boring," she huffed. Both Eren and Levi turned to see a tall, tanned woman with a spray of freckles much like Marco's and dark hair tied back in a ponytail, "The mission was completed so quickly." She then noticed Eren and Levi staring at her, and her pout turned into a grin.

"Hey, you, players," she called, walking up to them with a sly grin, "Wanna play a game?"


	2. Day 1: The Reaper's Game (2)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The freckled girl has a surprise in store

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm also posting this on ff.net, just an FYI.

Levi did not want to play a game.

The tall, tan girl smiled at them again, but her smile didn't reach her eyes. It was a fake smile, one that Levi himself had done more than enough times.

"No," Levi replied curtly, turning to leave with a scowl on his face. No way in hell was he going to play some stupid game after he already completed the mission.

"Are you sure?" she called. Levi hesitated. He was curious, he would admit it.

Levi turned back around. Eren looked uneasy. Of course he did. Levi was going along with whatever this person said. This random person who asked if he wanted to play a game. But who could resist? Eren, apparently.

"A reaper?" asked Eren quietly from behind Levi, "Are the reapers allowed to interfere with the game...?"

"Shut up, kid," the girl said, pulling at a stray hair that fell out of her ponytail, "Here's the deal. Defeat these noise, and I'll let you live."

"What?" Levi asked. He never agreed to this. Well, he kind of did, but still.

"If you fail, I get to erase you!" the girl smirked and tucked the stray hair behind her ear. She looked triumphant, even though they hadn't even begun to fight the noise yet.

"Levi!" Eren shouted, throwing more pins his way as the noise began attacking.

"What are these?" Levi asked, setting a noise on fire with his red pin. Using pins came naturally to him, it seemed.

"Psychs! Use them to fight the noise!" Eren yelled as he avoided an attack from the noise. Levi picked one and used it, and a bullet thing shot out of his hands. He decided that one was more effective than the other almost immediately. Eren yelped, but Levi didn't waste any time looking to see if he was OK. The noise were soon gone, and a glance at Eren showed that he was fine.

"Dumb brats," the girl scoffed unhappily, "Fight this one!"

All of a sudden, a huge bear appeared in front of them. Levi assumed it was a noise, although it was unlike the other noise he had seen. There was the fact that he had only seen the frog noise, though.

The bear looked just like any other bear, if Levi had to compare them. Although, this one was standing on it's hind legs, and had black tendrils for arms. It was kind of terrifying, actually.

Levi began attacking with his "psychs", and they proved to be very powerful. Levi didn't see Eren fighting with any psychs, as he was just narrowly avoiding attacks while Levi hit the bear. They made an excellent team, he would admit. He attacked it with one round of fire, causing the bear to howl and disappear. Levi wondered why they disappeared like that. Maybe it was because this was a game?

"Oh well," the girl shrugged and walked away, a hint of annoyance in her voice, "Anyone can beat the first day."

"Wings?" Levi mumbled t himself. He could see black wings on the girl's shoulders, and he wasn't entirely sure whether they were fake or not. He was cautious of the fact that the girl was leaving. She didn't seem like the type to walk away from a game.

Levi began to walk away too, but Eren managed to catch up to him. Quick little bastard.

"Levi, wait up!" Eren huffed, "Was there anything else you wanted to know?"

"Why did I have to be paired up with you?" Levi stopped and stood in front of Eren, using his best menacing face. He knew Eren was just trying to get him to talk, and he wasn't having it.

"Because we made a pact," Eren said matter of factly, unfazed by Levi's hard glare.

"What if I didn't want to be in some shitty pact?" Levi nearly sneered. Eren just sighed and pulled out his phone, fiddling with the buttons on it, presumably to avoid any more conversation.

"You would be erased," Eren said simply after a while. His tone was hushed. Levi began to walk away from Eren while he was preoccupied, heading toward what he thought was a department store. Eren followed close behind, even though he was still fiddling with his phone. Levi wondered just how the hell he got stuck with someone so persistent. Any normal person would have run away by now.

"Why haven't you left yet?" Levi asked, surprised at himself for saying it out loud. Oops.

"I would probably be erased if I left," Eren answered, "By reapers or noise. I can't afford to lose this game, Levi. We're stuck with each other."

Levi resisted the urge to ask why Eren couldn't lose, besides the obvious. Eren was playing with his phone again, looking wistful. Levi did wonder what a reaper was, though. He would ask later.

Levi leaned against a building. Eren soon followed. Levi wondered how they were supposed to sleep, what they were supposed to do after missions...

He really had no clue what to do. The only way he would be able to find out was through Eren, and he really didn't want to ask. He was hoping Eren would offer up the information soon, as it was becoming late. As a matter of fact, it was almost dinner time.

"Just how the hell did I get stuck in this game...?" Levi wondered out loud. Eren glanced at him sympathetically, but offered no response. He returned to his phone.

Levi wanted to know what was so interesting about that damn phone. The only thing he knew how to do with his phone was to read the messages. He couldn't even reply to the "missions" or whatever.

"Hey, Eren..." he began, but Eren was fast asleep on the concrete. In the middle of Shibuya crossing. Great. He was cradling his phone in his arms like it was a child.

Levi bent down to shake him awake, but he was feeling sluggish himself. As soon as he made contact with Eren, he fell into a peaceful sleep, right on top of Eren.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My tumblr is levis-friends-are-dead.tumblr.com, check it out if you wanna talk about TWEWY or fics or whatever.


	3. Day 2: Don't Kill Me (1)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A day has passed, and Levi and eren are having trouble getting along.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I forgot to post this chapter here when I posted to ff.net, oops. Oh well.

When Eren woke up, Levi was laying across him. It wasn't exactly uncomfortable, but it wasn't comfortable either. Eren gently pushed Levi off him, noting that there wasn't a mission yet when he pulled out his phone.

Levi was a huge grump. This Eren knew for sure. Trying to get rid of his partner, his only chance of surviving in this game, was the act of an idiot. Or a huge grump like Levi.

Or someone who didn't understand the game.

Eren stretched out his legs, reaching for his toes. If Levi didn't know anything about the game, then that must have meant he lost his memories. Whether that meant they were his entry fee or he just had amnesia, Eren wasn't sure. When Eren actually started to look around, he noticed he wasn't at Shibuya crossing anymore. He was under a bridge, and he could hear trains pass overhead. There was also some wicked graffiti on the wall.

He sighed, wondering when Levi would wake up. That guy was a heavy sleeper if he could sleep through this noise. Eren pulled out his phone and sighed again, staring longingly at the picture on the screen. What was he going to do?

* * *

"So how many did you get yesterday?" Historia asked. She ran her fingers through her long, blonde hair and looked expectantly to Ymir.

They were sitting on a rooftop, waiting for the next mission to come in so the players would get moving. It would be downright unfair to erase them before they even got their missions. Even reapers weren't that cruel.

"A few," Ymir said cautiously. She wanted to be careful about the amount she said, because she normally let Historia win their game. The game where they see who can erase the most players in three days. It was a fun way to get their job done so they themselves didn't get erased.

"I got around six," Historia continued. Ymir thought she looked positively angelic today, even though she was a reaper.

"Did they have partners?" asked Ymir. She had gotten seven players yesterday. She was glad she hadn't said it, even though Historia probably knew. It was only one player, but Ymir really liked letting Historia win. She liked the look of triumph on her face when she one, the way she smiled...

"No," Historia said as she examined her fingernails for chipping, "And it was after the mission. If they didn't have partners by then, they would have been gone in a matter of minutes anyway. I was doing them a favor."

Ymir didn't answer. She really loved this side of Historia. How she looked so sweet and angelic, and how she acted like that sometimes too, but also how she had a darker, kind of sexy side. One second Historia would be helping shop owners who dropped something, and the next she would be erasing players left and right. It was her job, but still. Historia knew that she had nothing to hide when it came to Ymir. She did not have to put on a show of being kind and selfless, although it wasn't all just a show. Ymir knew this, but she still couldn't help but think that this Historia was for show, too.

Historia noticed that Ymir was deep in thought, sneaking up behind her. Normally, Ymir would notice. She noticed everything about Historia.

"Ymir," she whispered in Ymir's ear. Ymir jumped a little and shivered. Historia wrapped her arms around Ymir's shoulders, holding the taller girl tightly in her arms.

"Wanna have a little fun before the mission?",Historia breathed into Ymir's ear. Ymir turned around carefully and bent down to kiss Historia gently on the lips.

She loved this side of Historia, too.

* * *

Levi woke up slowly. It was odd, since Levi normally was very bad at sleeping and got an average of three hours a night. He didn't see Eren until a few minutes later.

Eren was leaning against a wall, but at least he didn't have that damn phone out. A survey of his surroundings showed that he was no longer in Shibuya Crossing. Levi wondered if that was thanks to Eren or something else entirely. He decided it was one of the less weird things that had happened to him in the past few days.

"Oh, you're awake," Eren smiled at him and offered him a hand. Levi frowned at the outstretched hand and got up on his own. Eren pouted, but said nothing else. Their phones beeped, and they both pulled them out at the same time.

_"Free the cursed statue. You have 60 minutes. Fail and face erasure."_

"What the hell does that mean?" asked Levi, who was feeling frustrated.

"You expect me to know?" Eren sighed, "The statue probably means Hachiko. We were there yesterday."

A stinging pain in their hands started the timer. Levi didn't even bother to look. Levi walked to the exit of the station underpass, which was where he assumed they were. Eren followed quickly behind.

And ran right into an invisible wall.

"What the f-" Eren bounced back and narrowly avoided falling onto his ass. Levi resisted the urge to laugh out loud, even though he had no idea why the fuck there was a wall there either.

Levi noticed a man standing near a wall. He noticed him before, but now the man was watching them. He was wearing a red coat, with spiked up blonde hair. He looked really fucking suspicious, to put it lightly. Not waiting for Eren to get up, Levi walked over to the man. The man was, obviously, taller than Levi.

"Hey, what's the deal with this wall?" asked Levi boldly. Eren was behind him, as always. It was amazing that the kid had gotten up so fast.

"Want past the wall?" the guy asked menacingly. Levi assumed he was a reaper. His scary voice wasn't too great. He seemed more nervous than anything.

"Of course," Eren said helpfully.

"Get rid of all the noise in this area," the reaper commanded.

"What noise?" asked Eren, looking around. There really were no noise in sight. Levi tapped his black skull pin, once. When the pin stopped scanning, he saw three small noise on the ground near the reaper. He stopped scanning to tell Eren. Hey, he wasn't completely heartless.

"Scan for them," Levi said simply.

Eren didn't question it, deciding to go along with it instead. The noise were easy to defeat this time. Levi wondered if this was supposed to be some sort of trial run for what was coming up. That was what it seemed like, as the noise were barely attacking. They just kind of sat there while Levi and Eren hit them repeatedly. Of course, the noise turned to dust as they died.

"Wall cleared," the reaper said, walking away.

Eren walked over to where the wall was and experimentally waved his hands around where he thought it used to be. He turned around and gave Levi a thumbs up when it wasn't there. Levi almost rolled his eyes again, but something about the way Eren did it made it kind of... cute. As soon as they stepped out of the underpass, Levi saw that horrid undercut and nearly groaned out loud.

"Hey! It's you guys," Jean greeted. He was standing outside the underpass with Marco. It looked like they had been discussing the mission.

"We were just wondering where you were," Marco said. He seemed very friendly.

"Had to get past a wall," Eren said conversationally. Levi just wanted to get the mission over with. He was finding himself wondering why he wasn't just leaving there. Maybe it was because he wanted to hear what they had to say regarding the mission?

"But, man, we could have finished the mission yesterday if it weren't for that freckled lady," Jean complained, changing the subject immediately. Eren looked a little ticked off at this. It was kind of funny.

"Freckled lady?" asked Levi. If they were talking about who he thought they were talking about...

"Yeah," Jean seemed a little surprised Levi could speak, "She kept summoning noise until the timer went away. I thought we were going to die."

"Lucky you guys finished the mission," Marco agreed. He smiled brightly. Levi frowned. So that woman was terrorizing all of the players. That meant she was someone to look out for. Levi noticed Eren glancing at him, and knew he was thinking the same thing. Neither of them mentioned it, however, choosing to keep quiet.

"We gotta finish this mission," Eren tried to end the conversation. Levi wondered why he would want to end his little talk. They did have almost fifty minutes left.

"Oh, yeah," Jean agreed, as if he had completely forgotten about it, "The cursed statue is supposed to be Hachiko, right? Or is it that one over there?"

Jean pointed at a statue that looked kind of like an Easter island head.

"The moyai?" asked Eren. So that was what it was called. You learn something new every day.

"Yeah," Jean asked, "Because we tried heading over to Hachiko, but there's a wall over there."

"A wall?" asked Levi. He didn't want to have to deal with another fucking wall.

"We couldn't break it," Marco said sadly. _What a bunch of idiots_ , Levi thought. He started to walk away, like he always did, without saying goodbye. Eren said a rushed goodbye in his place and ran after Levi.

"What's your problem, Levi?" Eren asked, "I mean, that Jean guy's kind of an asshole, but..."

"I don't have a problem," Levi said angrily, "Why would I have a problem? I'm just stuck in a deadly game with no idea what the fuck is going on-"

"Sorry," Eren raised his hands in the universal "I surrender" pose. Levi huffed and turned around.

Sure enough, there was a wall where they needed to be. Levi put his hand on it, looking around for a reaper. As Levi suspected, the same red coat reaper from before was standing near them. Levi wondered how he got there so fast, and even put up a wall before they got there. As soon as he spotted Levi looking at him, he walked over.

"Want past the wall?" he asked smugly.

"Of _fucking_ course," Levi stated. He heard Eren giggle behind him.

"Defeat the noise around the moyai," the reaper commanded.

Levi sighed and walked over to the weird statue. He tapped his player pin like he did with the last noise, and three noise popped up. Eren seemed to be doing the same thing, although he was obviously mimicking Levi. Not in a mocking way, of course.

The noise were easy to kill. Five frogs and two bears, but they went by quickly with Eren and Levi's combined power. With Levi firing hand bullets left and right and Eren's uppercuts, they were totally in sync. The bears and little frog things didn't stand a chance. Levi was secretly proud of the fact that he was getting so good at fighting with psychs and focusing on how Eren was moving in battle.

"Wall cleared," the reaper said. He sounded disappointed, somehow. Levi heard a slight whooshing sound as the wall went away.

"Did that complete the mission? Was that the cursed statue?" asked Eren, looking at his hand expectantly.

"No," Levi murmured, "The timer's still there."

They had about a half an hour left. That meant they had a half hour to get rid of whatever curse was on Hachiko, supposedly. Levi felt slightly paranoid that Hachiko might not be the right statue, but said nothing as Eren began to make his way in the direction of the dog statue.


	4. Day 2: Don't Kill Me (2)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Levi needs to trust his damn partner

"How do I know you're not a reaper?" Levi asked suddenly as they were walking toward Hachiko. Eren stopped in his tracks.

"What?" asked Eren, who had never even considered the thought, and definitely didn't think anyone else would, "I have a player pin!"

"Anyone could have gotten their hands on one of those," Levi said accusingly. Eren looked at him incredulously. Levi guessed he was going a bit far, but...

"Are you fucking kidding me," Eren looked astounded, "Wouldn't I have weird black wings if I was a reaper?"

Well, he had a point. Levi tried to hide his embarrassment by not answering and looking the other way like he was still considering the fact that Eren might be a reaper. He heard Eren huff and had the strange feeling that he had fucked up, which felt strangely similar to regret. Eren looked fucking pissed. And he was. Couldn't Levi have a little faith in his partner?

The statue appeared in their sight a few silent minutes later. As they approached it, Levi began to wonder just what this "curse" was. The statue looked fine.

"I don't see any noise," Eren said, putting away his player pin. Levi never saw him get it out. Levi scanned as well. There were no noise, like Eren said. He thought he could see Eren roll his eyes.

"It doesn't make sense," Eren got closer to the statue, "What could be wrong with it? Now that I think of it..."

"What?" asked Levi impatiently. Eren shot him a dirty look.

"It looks different from when I last saw it," Eren explained despite his obvious agitation toward Levi. Eren returned to the statue.

Levi examined the statue. Now that Eren mentioned it, there was a purple smudge on the statue. Levi inspected it closer, wiping his finger along where the purple smudge was. Eren moved behind Levi to get a better look, nearly pressing against the other's back.

"Look," Eren said excitedly, all anger forgotten in his joy, "This stuff comes off!"

Eren swiped his entire hand across the statue. A lot of gray dust flew away, making Levi cough. He made a mental note to wash his hands later. Levi looked through the crowd, making sure no one was staring as Eren busied himself by wiping away the dust on the statue. It was embarrassing, but it wasn't like anyone would see them, unless they were players or reapers. Levi didn't know how many players there were, or how many reapers.

"It's weird," Eren said in a hushed tone, "Even though I'm cleaning it, the statue is just getting more purple...?"

Levi turned around. Sure enough, the purple color had spread, and was now mixed with some black and blue. Levi narrowed his eyes and wiped off some dust with his own hand. The dust flew away to reveal a very blue hue underneath. Levi couldn't remember anything, but he was pretty sure Hachiko wasn't blue.

"What the fuck," Levi cursed softly. He really needed to wash his hands. As Eren was finishing his cleaning job, which he had done because it was the only lead they had, he heard growling.

"Hungry, Levi?" Eren teased, his anger fading. He was less angry and more disappointed now, although he wouldn't show it.

"That wasn't me," Levi said defensively. He covered his stomach just in case. Eren's eyes widened and he slowly turned toward Hachiko. His hands were still on the dog, but now it was a noise. A really scary looking noise.

"Shit-" Eren jumped away and landed on his ass, hissing in pain. The noise jumped down from the stand in anger. Levi pulled out his pins and began attacking, followed soon by Eren. They were in sync again, even though Levi had kind of been an ass. The wolf snarled and attacked Eren's shoulder, biting down. Eren yelped and tried to kick the noise off him.

"Eren!" Levi shouted, sending some fire his way. He could try to distract the noise and possibly catch Eren on fire, or Eren could lose his shoulder.

Thankfully, the noise turned on Levi and began attacking him. Eren got up slowly, clutching at his wounded arm, which hung limply at his side. Levi finished the noise off with one last slash upwards, sending the noise up into the air, and then hitting the ground with a loud thud. Blood was streaming down Eren's arm as he limped over to Levi, who quickly checked for a timer. The timer was gone.

"Ow," Eren grit his teeth against the pain. Levi had no clue what to do. This was unlike anything he ever had to do before.

Eren reached into his pocket with his good arm, pulling out what looked like soda. His hand was soaked in blood. Eren opened the soda shakily and drank it. Levi's eyes widened as the wound on his shoulder nearly vanished.

"You would know about this of you had stayed behind to talk to Jean and Marco for a little longer," Eren's tone was joking, but his words were accusing.

"Sorry," Levi said it so quietly Eren almost didn't hear him. But he did. Eren didn't comment, but Levi could see the gratitude in his eyes and decided that apologizing once in a while wasn't so bad.

"Shit," they heard quiet cursing near them. They both turned around to see the reaper they had seen the other day. Levi was about to turn and run, but she spotted them.

"Oh, you again," she said, sounding unhappy. She was frowning.

"Yeah," Levi said cautiously.

"I'm not having such a great day," she said conversationally, twisting her brown hair on her finger and looking irritated, "Wanna help me out?"

"No," Levi said quickly. No way in hell was he falling for that again.

"Really?" she asked, pouting, "Not even for a prize? A really good one."

"No," Levi repeated, helping Eren up and sliding an arm under his in order to support him.

"How sweet," she said in monotone, "But you still have to do it. Oh, well. Defeat these noise, now!"

It wasn't like they had a choice. The noise came at them, at least five colorful frogs attacking them. Eren fought poorly, as he was still healing. The noise attacked him mercilessly, and he was a mess by the time Levi got rid of them all.

"That's no fun," the freckled girl _tsk_ ed, "How about another game? This one will be really fun, I promise."

"I said no once already," Levi said angrily. Eren was out of that magic juice stuff he used earlier. He was looking ragged. He needed help.

"But this will be _really_ fun," she said happily, "If you do it, I'll let you out of the game."

Out of the game? Could she do that? Levi hesitated. Eren was struggling to his feet, but all Levi could do was stare at the freckled girl in shock. If there was a way out of the game...

"...What is it?" Levi asked wearily. The girl smiled.

"Levi, are you serious?" Eren asked, his voice shaking, "She tricked you last time!"

"Here we go," the girl smiled cruelly, "You have fifteen minutes to erase your partner. If you succeed, I'll let you out of the game."

Kill his partner? The words struck Levi like a blow to the gut. She was asking him to kill someone. Even if that someone was Eren, he couldn't do it. He didn't think he could bear to kill someone like Eren, or anyone at all, really. Maybe he was just soft, but he was pretty sure it was illegal to kill people.

"Levi!" Eren shouted, his voice hoarse, "Don't!"

"Oh, and I need to mention," freckles twirled her hair again, "He's been spying for the reapers. Reporting for us. Excellent work, by the way."

"Shut the fuck up!" Eren nearly screamed, and was reduced to a coughing fit, "No way in hell did I do that! Are you really going to believe her, Levi...?"

"The phone," Levi said harshly as the seeds of doubt were planted in his chest. He began approaching Eren, "Why were you always on your phone? What were you doing?"

"Levi, I was-" Eren tried to explain, but had another coughing fit. He wouldn't be able to defend himself if Levi decided to kill him. No, when Levi decided to kill him.

"Tick, tock," freckles was smiling. How could she smile at a time like this? Even though Levi had his doubts, he still felt like crying.

"Levi..." Eren's voice broke with unshed tears, "Don't kill me." Levi grit his teeth. As if he had a choice.

He bent down and wrapped his hands around Eren's throat, successfully cutting off his air. Eren gasped and grabbed at Levi's hands, trying to pry them away. Tears were streaming form Eren's face, and probably from Levi's as well.

Could he really do this?


	5. Day 3: Who 2 Trust (1)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Levi feels like a dick

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> School is hard

Levi woke up in total darkness. He got up slowly, pushing himself up on unsteady feet. Where the fuck was he? Did he fall asleep?

Where was Eren?

The memories of the day before flooded his mind. Eren, looking ragged underneath him, the life leaving his usually bright eyes... Levi shook the images out of his head. He was such a fucking moron. Such a fucking idiot douchebag.

He began to feel his way around the area, making sure he didn't run into any walls. He was almost crawling at one point. He just had no idea where the fuck he was or how to get out. He was about to freak out. Levi wasn't a fan of the dark, believe it or not.

Sudden contact made him yelp uncharacteristically, stumbling back. He looked up and squinted in the darkness to see what he had run into. He felt a flood of relief as soon as he did so.

"Levi!" Eren sighed in relief, "I thought I ran into a reaper!"

Eren still had many bruises along his neck and in various parts of his body. He was otherwise clean, the dirt and grime from the day before gone. Levi felt a wave of guilt upon looking at the bruises, instinctively looking away. He remembered the other day all too well.

_Levi's hands squeezed Eren's throat, the life leaving his eyes. Levi thought he felt himself tearing up. But there was no way he would be tearing up now, right? He needed to finish what he started. If he did this, he would be out of the game. He would be fine. And Eren would be..._

_"Stop!" a voice rang out. And, for some reason, Levi let go. It was as if he had been waiting for the sound of someone to call out ad tell him to stop, to give him a reason not to kill Eren._

_Eren took in huge gulps of breath as Levi sat back, breathing heavily as well. He had almost killed Eren. He almost_ killed _another human being._

_"That's against the rules," the voice said. It was an old man with a mustache and a wrinkled face. He was looking at the girl pointedly._

_"What do you mean?" she asked halfheartedly. She looked equal parts disappointed and relieved. "_

_You know what I mean," he sighed, "Reapers can't assign missions, Ymir. Especially if the mission is 'kill your partner'."_

_The girl, Ymir, huffed while the man turned toward Levi and Eren. Levi was just standing up, now standing over Eren, who was propping himself up on his arms. He held his hand out, and Levi hastily moved so Eren could stand. Eren grabbed the old man's hand and hoisted himself up. Ymir frowned and started to walk away. "_

_Say hi to Historia for me," the old man called as she left. She threw him a dirty look over her shoulder. "_

_Thank you," Eren said gratefully, not making eye contact with Levi. "No problem. She was breaking the rules, after all," he said with a warm smile, "I'm Pixis. Dot Pixis. I work in a coffee shop down the street. You should drop by sometime. Some of these shops have a signal on them, allowing you to enter them and be seen."_

_"Eren," Eren smiled shakily and held out his trembling hand despite the questions he had, "And my partner is Levi."_

_"Ah, yes," Pixis glanced at Levi, "The one who was trying to kill you."_

_Levi felt a wave of guilt wash over him. He thought it would get him out of the game. He thought it would be quick, and then he would be free. Just what the hell had he done?_

_"I.." Levi tried, but had to start again, "I'm sorry." Levi tried not to let his voice break. He was so close to crying, and he had been so close to getting out of the goddamn game..._

_"Uh," Eren looked away awkwardly, "It's in the past. I probably should have kicked your ass anyway."_

_He knew Eren was trying to make a joke, but I didn't make Levi feel much better. Especially with Pixis boring holes into his skin with his glare._

_"You need to trust your partner, boy," Pixis sighed and shook his head, "You don't trust your partner, you're as good as dead. You alone will not be able to do anything. But with Eren, you could get rid of the Game Master and win this."_

_"I..." Levi decided not to question what a Game Master is, "I know."_

_"Do you now?" Pixis sounded amused. Levi looked away._

_"Pixis, if you don't mind," Eren asserted, "How can you see us?"_

_"Hmm..." Pixis seemed deep in thought, "You can call me an ally, of sorts."_

"I found the exit," Eren said timidly, snapping Levi out of his stupor, "I found it a while ago, actually."

"Why didn't you leave?" Levi asked bitterly.

"I wasn't just going to leave you alone," Eren sounded hurt. Levi looked away. It was official. He kind of hated himself now.

Eren grabbed his hand and began to lead him to the exit. His hand was warm, so much warmer than it would be if Levi had killed him. Levi tightened his grip. Eren hesitated for a moment at the sudden tightness of Levi's hand, then continued, not looking back at Levi. He didn't think Levi would want him to see his face.

And Levi didn't want Eren to see his face. He was dangerously close to breaking down. He had a rough few days, He woke up in the middle of the street, not knowing where he was or why no one could see him, he was thrown into this crazy game and told that if he didn't do these missions, he would die...

At that moment, their phones beeped. Eren yelped and dropped his. He tried to pick it up quickly, but Levi saw the photo on the screen.

"You saw?" Eren asked when he saw Levi's expression.

"Yeah," Levi said.

"She's my mom," Eren said wistfully, "I really want to see her again."

"... and that's why you were looking at your phone so much?" God, Levi wanted to punch himself.

"Uh, yeah," Eren looked extremely embarrassed by this, "But look! The mission is here."

_Defeat the master of A-East. You have 360 minutes. Fail, and face erasure._

They felt the familiar pain in their hands as the timer appeared. Eren tried not to make a sound, as Levi never even flinched and it made him look bad. He didn't think Levi minded that Eren wasn't necessarily "strong", but...

"Oh!" Eren exclaimed. Levi looked to him expectantly, both of their faces illuminated by the light of the cell phone. "I know where A-East is," Eren said happily.

"Good," Levi said, for lack of anything better to say. He was still holding Eren's hand. It was a nice warmth, and he wasn't sure he wanted to let go. That couldn't be good.

He was honestly surprised Eren could look him in the eye. As Eren led him to the exit, Levi couldn't help but glance at the bruises again. They were not looking good. If he were Eren, he would have deserted himself a long time ago. Why hadn't Eren done the same? Any normal person would try to get away from the person who tried to kill them. But here they were, holding hands like nothing had happened.

When they emerged into the street, the light was almost blinding. Levi had to blink a few times to adjust to the new light.

"Oh!" Eren exclaimed once again, "We're in A-East already."

"Wait," Levi said, "So we've been in A-East all along?"

"Apparently," Eren said absentmindedly. In front of them, there was a large blonde man with huge muscles. He looked kind of mean. He glanced their way and his blue eyes lit up.

"You two!" he walked over to him. Levi took a step in front of Eren.

"Yes...?" Levi asked cautiously. Eren peeked out from behind him.

"I need your help," the man smiled, "I'm 777, but you can call me Reiner."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've changed my tumblr URL since I last updated, it's tsukiyamas-dildo now


	6. Day 3: Who 2 Trust (3)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> the thrilling adventures of Bertholdt

"777?" asked Eren, "Aren't you in a band?"

Reiner laughed. When he laughed, he didn't look quite so menacing. Although, the fact that he could see them wasn't a good one. The only people who could see them were other players and reapers, and this guy didn't look like a player. Or, he did look like a "player", but not the kind that could see them.

"Yes, I am. I need your help finding my tech, Bertholdt. Without him, I don't know what we'll do. This place is a wreck."

Eren glanced over at Levi shyly, as if asking permission to help this person. Levi didn't know if it was great idea, but he couldn't resist those eyes. Dammit. He was screwed. Fuck. Plus, A-East was completely dark, so how were they supposed to find the master anyway?

"We can help," Levi sighed.

Reiner smiled brightly and hugged both of them, startling them like no tomorrow. Levi felt extremely uncomfortable at being hugged, and he didn't really like the idea of anyone's hands on Eren. He felt like he was responsible for Eren's life now, and he would do whatever he could to protect the boy he almost killed.

Eren began walking down the street, and Levi followed. They passed so many people. but none of them looked at them. They were invisible. Just like always. The thought hit Levi suddenly, and he realized how real his situation actually was.

Eren looked back at him, and Levi realized he was slowing down. Eren smiled and held out his hand, which Levi took. Eren had a habit of holding hands, it seemed. Levi didn't mind it in the slightest. It was weird, how Levi never liked touching, but now he would hold Eren's hand whenever Eren wanted to.

They passed a ramen shop, but Levi heard something that made him stop. Eren might have kept walking if they weren't still holding hands. As it was, as soon as he got out of arm's length he was stopped short.

"I just..." said a tall sweaty man standing just inside the shop, "I just don't think I can handle the pressure anymore..."

"Why's that?" asked the store owner, who was preoccupied making what was assumed to be ramen. Levi wrinkled his nose. He hated ramen.

"I don't want to get yelled at again," said the tall man, presumably Bertholdt, "They can just find a new tech. I can't take this."

Bertholdt walked out of the ramen shop as the owner finished the ramen and turned to give it to him. The shop owner sighed and set the ramen down, depressed. Levi turned around to follow Bertholdt.

"What do we do?" asked Eren, walking behind Levi, "Shouldn't we scan him?"

Levi nodded. Right. Scanning. He tapped his player pin, revealing several noise surrounding the tall man, as well as the thoughts of the passers-by. He wasn't sure he'd ever seen so many noise in one area before. He quickly checked the time on his palm to make sure they weren't running out.

"He's surrounded by noise." Levi said, pausing. Eren immediately stood by his side. Eren took comfort in the feeling of another person. Well, a little more than comfort, but he wouldn't admit that just yet.

"Oh!" Bertholdt exclaimed, and turned around, almost running into the two players, "I need to get back to Reiner."

"Did he change his mind that quickly?" Eren asked cautiously as they turned around to follow Bertholdt back. They had almost made it back to where Reiner was waiting when Jean and Marco showed up. Eren stopped following Bertholdt to wander over and talk to them, even though they were across the street, away from where they needed to be. Levi struggled between following Bertholdt back and getting Eren to fucking follow him.

In the end, he decided that someone needed to be at the stage in case Bertholdt really did change his mind, and especially in case he didn't. Levi ran the rest of the way, stopping just short of the tall man and Reiner.

"The lights blew out," Reiner was explaining, "we need a new fuse."

"Right," Bertholdt said. Even when he was just talking in a normal tone, he sounded uncertain. Bertholdt turned around and began walking toward Levi, who freaked out and tried to hide even though he knew Bertholdt couldn't see him. He walked back briskly in order to find Eren.

"Levi!" Eren called from the other side of the road. He jogged over to where Levi was, checking first to see if thee were any cars coming and wondering vaguely if it would matter if one was. He had walked up the road to find Levi after talking to Jean and Marco.

"They taught me something neat," Eren said happily once he reached his partner, "It's called 'imprinting'."

"What's that?" asked Levi. Eren seemed disheveled after running across the road. His hair had been messed up in the wind, making Eren look cute. Fuck.

"You tap your player pin-" Eren demonstrated by tapping his pin, "And you can imprint thoughts on other people."

"That sounds intrusive," Levi said. He began to walk in the direction Bertholdt went, just to be safe.

"It is!" Eren said, sounding weirdly excited.

When they caught up to Bertholdt, he looked nervous. Again. He was glancing around and sweating a lot. Levi almost gagged at the poor man's pit stains. Levi looked at Eren curiously as he tapped his pin.

_What was I supposed to get again? Oh, no, Reiner's gonna kill me..._

Eren grinned triumphantly. Now was the perfect time to try imprinting. Levi continued to stare as Eren tapped his pin once more and looked at him.

"What did he need to get?" Eren sounded positively giddy. Levi almost rolled his eyes.

"A fuse," Levi said, as if he knew what Eren was trying to do. He had been trying to figure it out, seeing as the kid had looked so happy just from reading Bertholdt.

_Fuse_ , Eren imprinted in Bertholdt's mind. He really hoped he had done that right. By the change in Bertholdt's thoughts, he had.

"That's right!" Bertholdt looked like he had been stuck by lightening. His entire face lit up as he hurried to buy a fuse. Levi shook his head as he realized what Eren had done. Eren took his hand and began to lead him to the stage, where they hoped Bertholdt would arrive with the fuse. Sure enough, in a few minutes Bertholdt came running to the stage where Levi and Eren waited, huffing for breath with a fuse in hand. Reiner beamed.

"Great!" he said happily. Bertholdt sighed in relief. Eren tapped his pin discreetly, so Levi wouldn't notice.

_I guess being a tech isn't so bad_ , Bertholdt thought as Reiner walked off with a smile on his face. Eren took his hand off the pin, smiling smugly. Soon, the lights were back up and Eren and Levi could go to the stage and finally fight the "master of A-East". They wandered into the area cautiously, ready for a fight at any moment.

"Do you see anything?" asked Eren, who was scanning in a corner.

"No," Levi sighed as he scanned yet another bad area. Suddenly, a large screeching sound came from above. A huge bat with yellow and blue wings swooped down, almost slicing Levi's head off with it's wing. Levi ducked just in time. His ears rang from the loud sounds the noise was making.

"Levi!" Eren ran over to him, but had to jump back as the bat came swooping down again, knocking him off his feet.

"Are you okay?" Eren called from the ground, where he was struggling to stand. Levi pulled out his pins.

"Just fine," he said. This was going to be a tough noise to beat. Eren dodged yet another swooping attack form the noise, jumping onto its back. He immediately regretted the decision as the noise flew upward, almost making Eren fly off. He clung to the noise, waiting for it to fly back downward so he could jump off.

In the meantime, Levi cursed. He couldn't strike the noise without hitting Eren. As the noise came back down to Levi, Eren jumped off and Levi sliced at it. It screeched and backed away, hovering just above Eren, who jumped again. This time, he kicked it in the chin, causing it to stumble back a few feet. Eren landed in his feet safely.

Levi began to shoot his fire balls at it. Eren dodged them as he attacked the noise again with his fist. The large bat roared and climbed into the air, where it fell down and nearly sliced both Levi and Eren with its talons. Eren and Levi dodged to opposite sides and attacked the noise with all their might. Finally, it let out one last scream and disintegrated.

Eren checked his sleeve. It had been cut through, and there was a bit of blood seeping through. Levi appeared almost unscathed, with a few scratches on his face and a hole in his jeans.

Eren grinned, "We did much better this time." Levi nodded in agreement and checked his palm. The timer was gone.

Soft music began to play and the team turned around. 777 was playing their concert. It was some pretty convenient timing. Eren grinned at Levi and grabbed his hand as they joined the crowd unnoticed.

* * *

"Six players were erased today," said Ymir. She was standing in a building with Historia and Annie.

"That makes 50% gone, right?" asked Historia. Annie sighed and tucked a chunk of blonde hair behind her ear.

"I didn't expect them to be so weak..." she said. She didn't really want to be Game Master, but that was the way things went. She had no choice in the matter. It was only for one week, so she could deal with it.

"Of course they'd be erased, with you as the Game Master," said Ymir, slight sarcasm seeping into her words. Historia gave her an alarmed glance, shaking her head furiously, but it was too late

. Annie circled her hands around Ymir's neck in a death grip, lifting her off the ground. Historia suppressed a gasp. Annie's expression was deadly and empty of empathy. She snarled and dropped Ymir, who fell to the ground, coughing.

Historia crouched beside her to check if she was okay. Annie left the room without another word. She hated her job.


End file.
